In honor of the anniversary of the Roswell UFO incident, the Economist has analyzed UFO sighting data from all over the country, and found that UFO sightings most often happen in the West, on Fridays and at party o'clock.

When and Where America Sees Aliens

[Credit: The Economist]

While UFO skeptics will be thrilled at the idea that there is a causal relationship between UFO sightings and inebriation, true believers will be pleased to note that there are several glaring issues that go along with drawing that conclusion based on this data.

First, while the correlation between UFO sightings and stereotypical drinking hours is strong, the correlation between UFO sightings and drinking culture doesn't seem to exist at all. In fact, it could almost be an inverse correlation. Utah, the state with the lowest alcohol consumption, has a higher number of UFO sightings than three of the top five "drunkest" states: North Dakota, District of Columbia, and Delaware. The kicker: Washington reports more UFO sightings than any other state, but it has the sixth-lowest rate of alcohol consumption.

Furthermore, there were many variables that were not controlled in this study. If you look at the first chart, it specifically delineates between "drinking hours" versus "sleeping hours" and "working hours." Common sense tells us that there may be more sightings during "drinking hours" because it's difficult to see UFOs when you're working or sleeping. Also, it's generally more difficult to spot an object in the sky during the day (even planes, for all you skeptics out there) since there's no opportunity to see a bright object against a dark sky.